FTC Reviews CAN-SPAM Rule

Review of CAN-SPAM

Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it completed its review of CAN-SPAM and voted to make no changes to the rule, which sets requirements for commercial e-mail messages and allows consumers to “opt out” of receiving emails. The FTC voted 5-0 to publish the confirmation of CAN-SPAM in the Federal Register.

In June 2017, the FTC asked the public to comment on the Rule to weigh in on whether changes were necessary. As a result, it received 92 comments in favor of the Rule and settled that CAN-SPAM benefits consumers without burdening companies.

The Rule upholds requirements including that commercial emails include correct headers and subject lines, a real physical address, and give recipients an option to opt out of future emails. It also says that an email must identify that it is an advertisement.